On Monday we then had the unedifying spectacle of the Liberal only service to commence the sittings of the Assembly.

As a result Labor and Green have passed a motion asking Speaker Dunne to not do this again in the future.

This has been turned into a massive assault on the tories religious freedom, and by extension the religious freedoms of you all.

The Greens’ Shane Rattenbury has taken a stab at setting this straight, helpfully including the relevant motion while explaining:

“Various unsubstantiated claims were made in the debate this morning, such as religious schools will now be unable to attend the Assembly, and Members would not be able to host religious organisations in the Assembly,” said Mr Rattenbury.

“This is a blatant misrepresentation of what this morning’s motion was about – a motion that sought to ensure that the Legislative Assembly, as an institution, did not ‘endorse or be affiliated with any ceremony that involves adherence or affiliation with any religious faith’.

“The motion does not seek to prevent any member of the Assembly from participating in any faith based activity, nor hosting events or community groups that have a religious affiliation.

This was made very clear, both in the text of the motion, and by those who spoke to the motion.

Trying to explain things to the Liberals is a waste of time. They just do not have the capacity to think outside the box their parents trained them into. I sometimes wonder if they are people or livestock.

Its either a religious ceremony for all faiths (difficult to do) or none at all (very easy to do). Certain faiths feel that because they were here first (even though they were not), that by default they are the religion of the whole country and thus should be followed…..

Its either a religious ceremony for all faiths (difficult to do) or none at all (very easy to do). Certain faiths feel that because they were here first (even though they were not), that by default they are the religion of the whole country and thus should be followed…..

A Liberal (I think Ms. Dunne but I’m suffering from weed induced poo-brain, so I can’t say for sure) was quoted on the ABC website as saying that this motion by the government will only offend people. Personally, I’m much more offended by the Libs attempt at shoe-horning Christianity into the legislative assembly. Maybe that’s just me though.

Its either a religious ceremony for all faiths (difficult to do) or none at all (very easy to do). Certain faiths feel that because they were here first (even though they were not), that by default they are the religion of the whole country and thus should be followed…..

A Liberal (I think Ms. Dunne but I’m suffering from weed induced poo-brain, so I can’t say for sure) was quoted on the ABC website as saying that this motion by the government will only offend people. Personally, I’m much more offended by the Libs attempt at shoe-horning Christianity into the legislative assembly. Maybe that’s just me though.

Not just you. This is officially the only time I’ve ever agreed with a DrK post.

Just had a look at this article – talk about over the top! “If we are truly to remove any formal religious connection… Every MLA with ‘Minister’ in their title will need a name change due to its clerical connotations, the seating in the Assembly will need to be rearranged too…”

Clearly Nick Jensen has also missed the point since he believes this saga aimed to prevent elected officials from expressing their faith, which it did not.

Its either a religious ceremony for all faiths (difficult to do) or none at all (very easy to do). Certain faiths feel that because they were here first (even though they were not), that by default they are the religion of the whole country and thus should be followed…..

Got ham right.

Religion either has every place in parliament or none at all. If you say a catholic prayer to start things off then I expect a prayer from every faith to be said, including things like satanism and Wicca.

This is shameful and stupid stuff on the part of the Libs. I listen to Parliament on ABC news radio occasionally, and I always turn off the prayer at the start because the religious bit offends me.

I do not belong to any religion, and I do not want that nonsense intruding into the official running of the government of the ACT. I’d consider voting for the Libs if JH was running the show, bot not if he endorses this rubbish.

The feds who have religion all go to church together at the beginning of parliament. I’m an atheist, but I think an ecumenical service is a good thing if it has folks sitting together from all sides of politics. In the US in December Obama attended a service in a community hall that included a rabbi, various priests and revs, and a Muslim religious leader. It’s troubling to see Katy bristling over an essentially harmless activity and making it such a negative. Save your negativity for people who are being nasty to each other, not people – however mistakenly – coming together in a spirit of reconciliation. Somehow I think that the 90 per cent Christian Aboriginal community wouldn’t be treated with such disdain by Katie if they were to invite her to participate in a church service ….. mmmmmmm?

The feds who have religion all go to church together at the beginning of parliament. I’m an atheist, but I think an ecumenical service is a good thing if it has folks sitting together from all sides of politics. In the US in December Obama attended a service in a community hall that included a rabbi, various priests and revs, and a Muslim religious leader. It’s troubling to see Katy bristling over an essentially harmless activity and making it such a negative. Save your negativity for people who are being nasty to each other, not people – however mistakenly – coming together in a spirit of reconciliation. Somehow I think that the 90 per cent Christian Aboriginal community wouldn’t be treated with such disdain by Katie if they were to invite her to participate in a church service ….. mmmmmmm?

The feds who have religion all go to church together at the beginning of parliament. I’m an atheist, but I think an ecumenical service is a good thing if it has folks sitting together from all sides of politics. In the US in December Obama attended a service in a community hall that included a rabbi, various priests and revs, and a Muslim religious leader. It’s troubling to see Katy bristling over an essentially harmless activity and making it such a negative. Save your negativity for people who are being nasty to each other, not people – however mistakenly – coming together in a spirit of reconciliation. Somehow I think that the 90 per cent Christian Aboriginal community wouldn’t be treated with such disdain by Katie if they were to invite her to participate in a church service ….. mmmmmmm?

The only consistent thing about you is your rabid defence of the local Libs, isn’t it? And your misogynist attacks on Katy…

Trying to explain things to the Liberals is a waste of time. They just do not have the capacity to think outside the box their parents trained them into. I sometimes wonder if they are people or livestock.

I don’t.

Now I’d like to see Ms Dunne required to repay any expenses to the public purse for her silly ceremony.